Book of Ancients
by bubblegum-buddy
Summary: Knight. Seer. When you look into this water, you will witness the histories of not only your ancestors, but all of your friends' ancestors. You will live their lives with them. Do you understand? From their past, you may shape your future.
1. Book of Modern Days: Chapter Zero

**Book of Modern Days  
>Chapter Zero<strong>

_Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip._

The young troll walked slowly through the cave, his gray skin, dark hair, and black clothes helping him blend in with his surroundings. Only his nubby orange horns and bright amber eyes stood out in the darkness. One maroon sickle was clutched in his left hand, and occasionally, it would scrape up against the rocks he held onto for balance.

"Terezi, are you still with me?" he whispered, as if the mere statement might make the splintering stalactites hurtle down towards them.

A female troll clambered clumsily over a medium-sized boulder and took his outstretched hand. She wore a skin-tight teal and red costume, and the material squeaked as she slid over the rock's surface. "Yeah, I'm here, Karkat," she replied shakily. "It's hard to see in here though, there's so much gray… I can barely tell you apart from the rocks." She sniffed disdainfully. "Then again, you do stink more than the rocks."

"Thank you, Terezi, that just makes me feel so good about myself. In fact, I would say that's the greatest compliment I've ever received. 'Congratulations, Mr. Vantas, your putrid B.O. allows the blind chick to tell you apart from rocks! And here's what you get for winning! A-'"

"Karkat. _Please._ Not now," she begged, squeezing his hand. Her wide, pupil-less scarlet eyes fixed on him, and they said all of the things that she would never speak aloud. _I'm depending on you. I'm afraid. Don't let me down. I don't think you will, but I'm not sure. I'm afraid._

He paused for a moment and then squeezed back. "Yeah. Okay. I gotcha."

They clambered through the darkness hand in hand for a few more moments, the only sounds coming from their own faintly echoing footsteps and the steady drip of what they hoped was water falling from the cave's ceiling.

"Did you talk to John?" asked Terezi.

"For a few minutes," replied Karkat. "But we didn't say much."

It seemed for a moment that it would be left at that, but then Terezi asked, "What _did_ you say?"

A pause. "Not much. I told him… I told him to be safe. And…"

"… And?" Terezi urged after a long, pregnant pause.

"To do whatever he needs to do." They both knew what that meant. Karkat gave the female's hand an extra squeeze in reassurance, but who and what it was really for, he wasn't sure. "Do you think we're getting close?"

The scarlet-eyed troll inhaled deeply. "I think so," she responded. "It smells like there's…raspberry and vanilla up ahead."

"Flavor to English translation?"

"Blue and white, smartass."

He shrugged. "It's a talent."

They laughed. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but they knew that it was supposed to be funny, and so they laughed, because in a normal day, it would have been funny, maybe even hilarious. But things weren't normal, not even close. So they laughed to pretend, just for a minute.

When their laughter died, they were quiet for a few more moments. Karkat stopped in his place. "There's a slope," he said. When Terezi made a small noise, he instinctively slipped an arm around her waist and guided her down it. It was a long and slippery, wet slab of black rock, but it wasn't steep, at the very least. Still, Terezi had lost her cane to an unseen chasm early on in the cave, so she felt very uncertain on the wet stone. Karkat, blaming himself for the mishap, took it upon himself to guide her.

However, one should not think that he was very _good_ at this.

Karkat managed to trip over the flat stone, sending both trolls flying. Karkat merely grunted, but Terezi screamed, suddenly unable to make any sense of her surroundings. "Jegus Christ!" Her arms and legs flailed about manically. Karkat skidded underneath her, trying to lessen the impact of her fall with his body, but instead, he caused her to trip over him, and she slammed face-first down onto the stone. "Ugh… At least I know where the ground is now," she mumbled, rubbing her now-bloody nose.

"Are you hurt? Are you okay?" Karkat asked as he scrambled to his feet.

She chuckled. "I'm fine. You're not my lusus, you know."

Just then, the echo of a roar pealed through the cavern walls. They both yelped at the sudden noise and gripped onto each other out of fear. But when it subsided, they both released a deep sigh and let go. Karkat helped Terezi to her feet.

"It's close, isn't it?" he asked.

She gulped nervously. "It's down that way. We keep going straight and it's right there."

"All right." He began to lead her again, but then stopped.

"What's wrong?"

The young male turned around with wide eyes, though he knew she would never be able to tell. "You know, you don't have to do this," he said in an almost pleading tone.

"Yes I do!" the blind troll said, the insult obvious in her voice.

"No, you fucking _don't!_" replied Karkat, gripping her wrist tightly. "I'm the leader, it's _my_ job to do this! And more importantly, it's my goddamn job to protect _you!_ I shouldn't be putting you in jeopardy just because I'm scared like a fucking wriggler!"

"Why do you always assume that you can do everything on your own? Why can't you ever take the help that's offered to you? For God's sake, Karkat, I'm your _matesprit!_"

"Which is exactly why bringing you down here instead of Sollux or Aradia was a terrible idea! I should be trying harder to keep you out of harm's way! Granted, Aradia's a goddamn weirdo and Sollux is one of the most annoying fuckasses I've ever seen, but-"

"Karkat, _shut up._" She miraculously delivered him a slap to the face, the sharp noise echoing repeatedly throughout the caverns. The male troll's eyes widened, absolutely stunned.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" he snapped. "Here I am, pouring my fucking heart out to you, and you fucking-"

He never got to finish telling her whatever it was she was fucking doing because she grabbed him and kissed him. He stiffened but then returned it, throwing his arms around her carelessly and trying to pull her in as close as he could. They never showed affection like this to each other despite their rocky matespritship. But right now, at this moment, they were desperate. Desperate to feel close to another living, breathing creature. Desperate for a taste of comfort. How long had it been since they had played that goddamn game? How many months had they spent up in the Veil, trapped with ten other people that they didn't have very close relationships?

Too damn long, they decided.

But suddenly Karkat pulled back. "I… I can't," he said, looking horrified with himself. "I… What _was_ that…?"

Terezi looked as though she had never been more insulted in her life. "What? What are you even _saying?_" She crossed her arms over her chest. "What, do you suddenly not want to be matesprits with me anymore?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean… Oh, _fuck_, Terezi. I didn't mean it like that!" he exclaimed as soon as he realized what she had thought he meant.

"Then what _did_ you mean it like? You'd better have a fucking good explanation."

Karkat put his hands up in front of him, palms open in a gesture that meant "stop." "Okay, okay, just… Hear me out." She raised her eyebrows to indicate that she was waiting. "Okay… I just…. While we were kissing, I…I had this vision. It was like… It was like older versions of us, but I was dressed differently but you were wearing the same thing. And we were doing that, but…"

"But what?"

"But you were dead."

Terezi raised her eyebrows again and she laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah, Terezi," Karkat replied, "I'm making a huge fucking joke about seeing you dead and me kissing you to revive you. Yeah, I would totally fucking joke about that considering our situation. I would completely fucking _lie_ about seeing my worst nightmare – well, second-worst, the first being the one I still refuse to talk to you about – but whatever." He sighed heavily and crossed his arms, tucking his face into his shoulder.

Terezi stood in front of him, eyes wide, and simply stared (or, would have, if she could see.). But then she heard him make small, whimpering sounds, and heard his shirt sleeve wrinkle as he sucked air and mucus in through his nose. "Karkat…?" she asked. "Are you… Crying?"

"N-_no_," Karkat replied. "I'm fucking _fine._" He was trying to be brave, but his voice cracked and squeaked, indicating to Terezi that, in fact, he was.

"Karkat…" She stepped forward, miraculously missing his toes, and touched her hand to his face. As she ran her thumb all along his bony, tired features, she felt dripping moisture running down and wetting the skin. _Tears_, she thought. _He really _is _crying…_She wiped his tears away with her hand and held him, the pitiable fool. "I'm sorry for yelling at you," she muttered.

He snorted and brushed her hand away. "Jeez, Terezi, you're not my fucking lusus." But then he smiled. "Don't pity me so much." He coughed to clear his throat and took her hand.

"We're going now?" she asked with a small grin.

"Yep."

They wandered through the maze of stone with minimal incident until they approached a very large cave mouth. White light poured out of it, momentarily blinding Karkat. As he lifted the hand that held his sickle to block the light from his eyes, he asked, "Are you sure this is what you smelled?"

"Positive. Although after this, I may never want to eat vanilla again."

He rolled his eyes. "You're so fucking weird."

A loud voice, sounding both male and female, suddenly echoed from the cave. "If you wish to enter, do so now. If not, leave this place, and never return."

Terezi fixed her blind gaze on him. "Are you sure about this?"

Karkat nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure." He gulped and squeezed her hand. "Let's go."

They walked inside.

The beast stirred within her chambers. For hundreds of sweeps, she had remained dormant, only dimly aware of the world outside. But she had awakened. The Descendants had finally been born, and from that moment, she watched them all, analyzing their every move. So far, they had done well. They had not failed utterly like their predecessors, but they were not close to success.

But now, four knew of her existence. There were five left, but the fifth was very ill in both mind and body, and had been left behind in a safe haven to heal. But four out of five was all right. The Maid of Time, the Knight of Blood, the Seer of Mind, and the Mage of Doom. The Maid and the Mage were off helping the race the Descendants had created to eradicate the cancer, while the Knight and the Seer were coming to find her.

And when they did, she would be waiting. It was unclear to her what their plans were, but, like their predecessors, it would likely have to do with overwriting the game. But she was unsure, and so she would wait.

She was very patient, after all.

Karkat, keeping a firm grip on Terezi's hand, raised his sickle as he walked in the cave. "Echidna!" he called to the light, his eyes squinted almost all the way. "Where are you, Echidna? Answer me!"

Suddenly, the white light turned blue, and a nearly featureless, white face appeared from the back of the large cave. As Karkat's eyes adjusted to the light, he could see that the inside of the cave was hollowed out and smooth, and all noises echoed within it. "So at last, you have come," said the face. She had a huge, booming voice, and to call it intimidating would have been the understatement of the sweep. "Knight of Blood. Seer of Mind. Welcome to my chamber."

Karkat stood up as straight as he could. "Echidna," said he, "are you the creature that our ancestors spoke to so many sweeps ago? The one responsible for our creation?"

"The very same," replied Echidna, folding two tendrils of blue in front of her as if she was resting her chin on them. "What do you desire from me?"

Karkat gulped, swallowing the ball of nerves in his throat. He felt added pressure on his hand and quickly cast a sidelong glance at Terezi, who smiled ever so faintly. He looked Echidna in the eyes. "I want to know about my ancestor," he said very seriously and slowly. "I want to know what his downfall was, so I don't make the same mistakes."

"For what reason? Assurance of victory?" The ghostly creature laughed.

"No," said Karkat. "To protect my friends. So many of them have died for nothing already." He swallowed. "I don't want that to happen again."

The beast gave him a slow, thoughtful nod. "Very well," she replied. "And you, Seer?" she asked, looking directly at Terezi.

The female troll blinked in confusion. "Me?" she asked.

"Yes, my dear, you. Why are you here? I sense that you do not want anything from me personally…"

Terezi bit her lip, her sharp teeth sending a tiny drop of teal blood to the surface. "I'm here to protect him," she said carefully. "That's all."

"Is that so? There is no greater purpose for you being here?"

She looked the ghost in the eyes, fixing a gaze that reminded Karkat of a dim fire on her. "It's the right thing to do. There is no greater purpose than to do what's right and just."

Echidna nodded, but whether it was from amusement or approval was anyone's guess. "I see. You are very much like your predecessor, Seer. And you, Knight. Now, come forward," she instructed. As she spoke, a flat, circular rock rose up from the cave floor, shaking the ground beneath their feet. A very thin line of stone from the bottom supported it, melting into the floor. It looked very unstable, but it did not shake or quiver in the slightest.

The quaking slowly came to a stop, and, with a blue tendril, Echidna beckoned them forward. Nervously, the two trolls walked towards the stone and looked down at it. It was filled with swirling blue water, with white, wispy clouds of gas rising from it.

"This," said Echidna, "is the Fountain of Memory. All of history can be seen from within its waters, in perfect detail. Knight, Seer, when you dip your faces into the water, you will be able to follow the paths of your ancestors, as well as those of your friends. You will feel as if you are living their lives alongside them, though you will not be able to interact with them. Do you understand?"

"Yes," replied Karkat, gripping the edges of the wet stone with his fingers.

"I think so," said Terezi, "but how will we breathe?"

The face chuckled. "You needn't worry about that. This will only take a moment, though it will feel like much longer than that."

Terezi sighed. "All right." She turned her face towards Karkat's. "Are you ready?"

He nodded, but upon remembering that she couldn't see him, he said, "Yeah. On three." Both trolls gripped the stone. "One." They tipped their heads down to face the water, the hot air warming their skin. "Two." Karkat moved one of his hands and placed it over the blind troll's. She turned her palm upwards and held onto it. "Three."

The young trolls took very loud, deep breaths, and plunged their faces into the water. Suddenly, they felt their whole bodies being pulled inside. Karkat screamed under the water and choked, feeling his lungs fill up. Terezi guided herself over to his body and covered his mouth, trying to keep the water from going into his mouth and nose. Karkat fixed his yellow eyes on her and pulled her mouth away. To his surprise, he was breathing. "The hell?" he said.

Terezi could somehow hear him clearly and let out her breath. "What's going on? Where are we? I can't smell anything! How are we breathing and talking?"

"I'm not sure," said Karkat, "but I don't think we're in water anymore."

He was correct. The two trolls were now floating in some kind of space within paradox space, amidst strange stars and planets they had never seen before. The sky exploded into color and light. Suddenly they were pulled towards the ground by their feet, and were falling into what appeared to be a large white star.

"What's going on?" asked Terezi again, incredibly panicked from losing her senses.

"We're being pulled down into a star, I think- I don't know!"

They were enveloped in white light once more and, when they could see again, they felt fertile ground beneath their feet. Karkat opened his eyes and looked around, keeping one arm around Terezi half for her protection and half for his own reassurance. "We're in a forest," he explained to her. "Can you smell that?"

"Sort of," she replied. "But it's all really faint. Maybe because we're not really here, I don't know."

Karkat grunted and kept looking around, trying to find something. Suddenly, he saw several large holes in the earth, with grubs just crawling out of them, wailing and squealing. "I think we're by the trial caverns," he whispered. "Can you hear all the grubs?"

"Unfortunately," Terezi replied, putting her hands over her ears. "They're so loud. Jegus, was I that loud as a grub?"

"You're that loud all the time, what are you talking about?"

Suddenly they heard a rustling amidst the squeals of the grubs calling for their lusii. "Hey, what's that?" asked Terezi.

Karkat squinted. Out of one of the caverns, there appeared to be a large shadow running towards the surface. "What the…?" he muttered.

The figure stepped into the moonlight. It was a fully-grown female troll. She was tall and slender, and dressed in a modest black and green dress. Her hair was styled but short, and she had a very regal look to her.

"The fuck? It's an adult troll," said Karkat. "What's she doing in the trial caverns?"

The female ran towards them, and Karkat pulled Terezi behind a rock next to them. The two young trolls watched her carefully, but the adult kept running towards them. She finally stopped just in front of the rock, and Karkat nearly gasped. _She looks just like Kanaya_, he thought. _This must be her ancestor!_

The adult female panted, gasping for breath as she finally stopped. Carefully, she pulled away at some cloth she had laid over the little thing in her arms. "I'm sorry I had to take you away," she said to it, holding it to her bosom tenderly. "But I couldn't just leave you there."

Karkat tried to peer over the rock some more when he stepped on a branch. _Shit!_ he thought as Kanaya's ancestor turned her head at the noise. She fixed her gaze directly on him, but then turned her head. Confused, Karkat reached out, despite the fact that Terezi hissed, "You idiot, what are you doing?"

But Kanaya's ancestor didn't even blink. It was almost as if…

"She can't see us!" said Karkat. "Or hear us, apparently," he added in a normal voice as Kanaya's ancestor did not so much as turn in his direction. Terezi got to her feet shakily.

"What's she holding?" asked the blind troll.

"Not sure…" Karkat crept on top of the rock and knelt on it. He peered over her shoulder and saw a tiny bunch of black fuzz nuzzling into her chest. He heard it make whirring and chirping noises, and Karkat could see two tiny orange buds on the top of it. "Is that…?"

The ball of fuzz chirped and crawled up on her chest. Karkat gasped. It was a little grub, but the most striking thing about it was the color of its body. It was a bright, vibrant red, similar to… Very similar to, actually…

"Karkat," breathed Terezi, her blind eyes wide with utter surprise. "That's _your_ color."

"Then…that must be _my_ ancestor," he whispered. He stared in awe at the small creature. But then furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What's wrong?" asked Terezi.

"Does this mean… _Kanaya_ is my _lusus_?"


	2. Book of Ancients: Chapter One

_Hey, everyone! Just wanted to say thanks for all your feedback! :) Also, the naming here was a little tricky. I tried to stay within the pattern of the 8-letter names as well as the types of names (Darkleer, Mindfang, Dualscar, etc.), so if they're a little awful, I'm sorry, I tried. :C_

* * *

><p><strong>Book of Ancients<br>Chapter One**

Karkat and Terezi simply watched as Kanaya's ancestor nervously ran her fingers through the little grub's mess of hair.

"What do you think she's doing?" Karkat asked his female companion. "I mean, why would you take a grub from the caverns? It's not like trolls actually _raise_ their young…"

Terezi clambered up onto the rock, trying not to let the material of her FLARP costume squeak against it. "That seems like what she's doing though. The real question is, why?"

"Well, how are we supposed to find out?"

They both stopped as the adult troll began to speak. "I suppose I should give you a name, little one, shouldn't I?" she murmured to it. Like Kanaya, her ancestor was very articulate and clearly pronounced every word she spoke. Idly, she scratched under the grub's chin, causing it to make a half-purring, half-chirping noise. "Let's see…You are a unique little one, after all… What about… Veritaus?"

Karkat cringed. Visibly. "Oh, please do _not_ pick that name!" he spat. "That's fucking _terrible! _The fuck does that even _mean?_ 'Hello, I'm a pretentious asshole, how the fuck are you?' Jegus _Christ!_" Terezi cackled beside him and clapped her hands together at this.

"No, no, that's too pretentious," the female said, and Karkat breathed a deep sigh of relief, earning him more laughter from his companion. "Hm… Byron? No, no, too regal."

Karkat's jaw dropped. "Like the_ first_ choice was any fucking _better_!"

"And _now_ we know why we have lusii raise our young," commented Terezi as she heard the adult reject the name Byron and suggest Luther. "Goddamn, we are terrible at naming."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's just Kanaya's ancestor." Karkat winced as she rejected _that_ name and propose William. "Oh, _fuck_ no, _my_ ancestor is _not_ gonna have a nooksucker name like that!"

"Kanaya sucks at it too. Have you ever read any of her rainbow drinker fanfiction? The names _suck._" William was rejected in possible favor of Trevor. "Ouch, if _that's _your ancestor's name, I'm genuinely sorry for you."

"I'm sorry too." Karkat raised an eyebrow. "Hey, wait, why would you be reading Kanaya's fanfiction in the first place?"

"Don't ask."

"No, no," said Kanaya's ancestor. "That's not it. Your name…" She looked down into the grub's eyes, and as it peeked up at her and gave a little _whirr_ of sound, a smile rose to her face.

"Come on, come on, come _on!_" groaned Karkat, shaking his fists in anticipation. "Just fucking name me – I mean him – I mean – Fuck it, just give the goddamn grub a name already!"

"… Newfaith. Your name is Newfaith Fadeveil, my child." She pulled the grub closer to her, so that their faces were almost touching. "And do you know why you have that name, little one?"

"Extreme foreshadowing?" commented Karkat.

Terezi promptly smacked him in the head. "_Shoosh!_"

The adult troll delicately ran her slim fingers through the grub's hair, making it whirr and chirp in pleasure. "Because you have given me something to truly believe in, little one."

Terezi gave Karkat a withering glance. "There, see? It was something _nice._"

Karkat rolled his eyes. "It's still a nooksucker name."

"It's Kanaya's genes, what do you expect?"

They broke off their snarky conversation as the adult troll suddenly flinched. "I shouldn't be here," she whispered. She covered the grub up in the loose fabric of her sleeves and began to run off into the woods.

"Come on, let's follow her!" Karkat said, taking Terezi by the wrist and jumping off the rock. The female troll came down, albeit a bit clumsily, and ran behind her male companion.

"Wait for me, you jackass!" she spat at him as she nearly tripped over a rock. "Jegus, you could try to be a little more- Ah!" She stumbled over a tree root and knocked into Karkat.

"Fuck, Terezi, what is this shit?" he spat as he began to roll on the ground and dragging the blind troll with him. The ground gradually sloped downhill, causing them to continuously spin down the sparse earth.

"It keeps happening!"

"The fuck?" They slowly skidded to a stop, and when they did, Karkat sat up instantly. "We're still on Kanayacestor's trail," he said, getting to his feet and rather roughly pulling his female companion up with him.

"_Kanayacestor?_" Terezi clung to his wrist and forced him to walk, not run, by digging her heels into the ground. "You have less creativity than she does!"

"Oh, shut up and hurry up!" snapped Karkat.

"Karkat, until you get me a new cane, I can't run," she replied sternly. "I can barely smell anything here because it's not real, and I haven't got the cane to feel the ground with." She pulled her arm away from him and crossed them over her chest, giving him a stern glare behind her comically large, red glasses. "I understand it's a burden, but I need to be able to get around without being led by you all the time."

The boy troll growled and ran his hands angrily through his short, messy black hair. "Fucking- fine, fine, that's fucking fine." He looked around for a few seconds before finding a large branch and picking it up off of the ground. "Here, a fucking cane. Take it."

He held it in front of her face and she smacked it away, sending it flying and causing some tiny twigs still left on it to snap. "It doesn't _work_ like that, Karkat," she said with quite a bit of unpleasantness in her voice.

"Well, I'm sorry, okay? Ugh – look. Stay right here. I'm going off to find Kanaya's ancestor. And mine." He bit his lip and glared at her and was thankful that she could not see just how royally pissed off he was.

"Fine. That's fine." She sat down on the ground right where she stood, crossing her arms pretzel-style and her arms over her chest, and she stared at him with her solid red eyes. "You do your little thing, Karkat. Like you always fucking do."

"God, you just- You know what? I think I will. Later." He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around, stomping off like a little wriggler who didn't get his way. Terezi snarled and felt the ground beneath her, digging her gloved claws into the earth. That fucking _asshole._

"And this is why our matespritship is so rocky," she muttered to herself, picking a little pebble off of the ground and holding it in front of her face, trying to sniff and absorb its color. Was it black, brown, gray, white? She couldn't tell, and she threw it aside, frustrated. In their world, she would have been able to walk wherever and however she pleased. But this wasn't their world, so obviously the rules were different.

And that meant she was next to useless.

Terezi leaned her elbow on one of her thighs and rested her chin in her hand. She really supposed that she had nothing better to do but wait until Karkat came back. And that, for her, was a truly awful feeling.

Karkat, upon seeing the tiny speck of black and green that he knew to be his ancestor's caretaker, took off on a mad dash through the woods. He supposed he should feel a little bad for how he had treated Terezi – after all, if she really couldn't see or smell here then they would have more than a few problems – but she _was_ kind of a super bitch all of the time…

Oh, fuck, why was he even trying to justify himself? He was a jackass and he knew it. He should go back and apologize once he figured out who Kanayacestor was in relation to his ancestor.

His ancestor. Newfaith. Newfaith Fadeveil. Just who _was_ he, exactly, and what could Karkat learn from him? He supposed he would find out soon.

The young troll slunk through the bushes and saw that Kanaya's ancestor was making temporary refuge inside of a hollowed out stone cave. Karkat kept his wide amber eyes fixed on her, and he crept closer and closer slowly, knowing that she was not able to see or hear him, but he still worried that, for whatever reason, she might notice his presence.

The adult female knelt on the ground, ripping a piece of fabric from the inside of her dress and wrapping it around wriggler Newfaith's bright red body. To Karkat, this seemed to serve two purposes. One, to keep the grub warm, because it felt pretty cold in the cave, and what little of grubs that he knew told him that a grub could probably die in that cold. And two, it covered up the color of the grub's body, which would keep Newfaith's blood color anonymous. Smart, very smart, thought Karkat.

Karkat crept closer and closer to the female troll, whose name he still did not know. He could see from this very close distance that the quiet troll's ancestor also painted her lips a jade green color, and he could also see that age had created a few small, delicate lines in her face. "Huh," muttered Karkat. "For some reason, I thought that they would be a little younger... She must be, like, 12 sweeps… Maybe older…"

Karkat unsteadily reached a hand forward, just to see what would happen, and was rather surprised when he could feel her gray skin beneath his fingers. Suddenly, he was faced with a blinding white light, and felt himself actually being pulled _inside_ her face. A circle of white expanded beneath his fingers until it covered her whole face, and suddenly his feet were no longer touching the ground and a rather loud "_Fuuuuuuck!_" exploded from his mouth. He spun and swirled through a sea of white until he crashed onto the ground again.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a very young version of Kanaya's ancestor, with wild, curly black hair and skinny, awkward limbs. She must have been about four sweeps old, and she was running carelessly through a stately-looking hive.

"Jadeheart Fadeveil, get back here this instant!" a rotund female troll, a purpleblood from her attire, bellowed as she waddled after her.

_So that's where the 'Fadeveil' comes from,_ thought Karkat as he stumbled to his feet. _She gave my ancestor her last name. Don't the humans do that, too?_

The name itself wasn't that creative, but Karkat had to force himself to remember how rare that a troll with Kanaya or Jadeheart's blood color was. It was likely that they were the only two for the past several hundred sweeps. That he had been lucky to meet both of them was surely a miracle. Gamzee would have been proud.

_Gamzee_, thought Karkat with a bit of a pained expression. Karkat, as Gamzee's newly-established moirail, had been able to bring him back to a calm, normal state, but upon the realization of all the horrible things he had done to their friends, he became very sick, and Karkat chose to leave him behind in the Veil for his own protection. Although no one was there to check on him and make sure he was all right, Gamzee had insisted that he would be fine. "It's prob'ly just a motherfucka of a cold," he'd insisted. "You go, do yo' thing. I'll just kick back with some Faygo and chill and hope for a couple of motherfuckin' miracles to fly all up your way."

Staring at Kanaya's ancestor, Karkat curled his fingers up into a fist. _This is for you, buddy,_ he thought, standing up straight and following the young Jadeheart.

Little Jadeheart was dressed in a simple green and black dress, with a little red ribbon tied around the waist, and her symbol was stitched on the back of her left shoulder. "But, I don't want to go back down into the caverns, Matron!" she whined. "It's dark and boring down there. I like the sun! Can I play outside?"

"Absolutely not!" the Matron insisted, grabbing Jadeheart by the wrist. "You are going to do what the rest of us do, and help us care for the mother grub!"

Jadeheart pouted as she was forcefully dragged towards a staircase that seemed to go down endlessly. "But she's a big grouch all the time! Couldn't she at least pretend to be nice?"

"Jadeheart!" The Matron gave a rather loud _smack_ to the back of the head. Karkat winced in sympathy pain. "Do _not_ speak so crudely about the mother grub! She gave you_ life_, you know!"

"Not that she was ever there for me…" But the statement was only loud enough for Karkat to hear. Either the Matron didn't notice or she simply chose to ignore it. Suddenly, as the two trolls walked down the stairs, the scene before him seemed to warp and blur; all the colors and shapes were mixing and twisting before his eyes. Even the ground beneath his feet seemed to change texture, and Karkat thought he might vomit, he was becoming so disoriented.

But then the twisting and pulling came to a stop, and Karkat clasped his hand over his mouth as he tried to watch the scene before him. Jadeheart was once again the age he had come to know her as, and dressed in the same outfit he had found her in. Was this only moments before he had first seen her? He tried to swallow the bile that had risen in his throat so that he could focus.

She had her hands folded together in front of her as she walked, looking fondly over the hordes of little whining, chirring grubs, all clambering over each other in what appeared to be strange feats of strength. Karkat didn't remember much of anything from when he was a grub, but he guessed that that sort of stuff was pretty normal. Jadeheart seemed to think so, too, because she was nodding to herself as she surveyed the area. Then she turned her head to her right and she gasped.

Karkat turned in the same direction and watched. At first what she was looking at appeared to be vaguely normal, with a tiny group of teal and blue and green and yellow grubs all playing with each other. But then, just behind them, he saw the bright red of his ancestor. The grub that would later be known as Newfaith was busy trying to clamber over a teal grub, but the teal grub whirred angrily and rolled over, knocking the little red grub on his back. He began to cry pitifully, and Jadeheart walked through the mass of grubs and picked him up.

"You are a strange little one, aren't you?" she asked him, knowing that she wouldn't get an answer. As soon as she put her hands on him, he calmed down and stopped crying. The look of surprise on Jadeheart's face indicated to Karkat that this wasn't a normal grub response to being touched.

"Very strange, very strange indeed…" The adult troll picked the grub up and held him to her chest, looking to her left and her right, making sure that no one was watching. When she seemed certain that she was safe, she looked back down at little grub Newfaith. She ran her fingers through his soft hair and smiled. "You probably won't have a lusus, little one," she said sadly. "They're not bred to be your color… But you are a good little grub…" She tickled the grub's belly and he squealed a happy squeal, and Karkat could not help but feel a sting of jealousy. Why couldn't his lusus have been as loving and caring as Kanaya's ancestor? Crabdad was just a fucking douche.

"And you deserve a chance to live, don't you?" Karkat couldn't see it in the darkness, but he could tell that at that moment, Jadeheart felt something very special. Perhaps an answer to her question from an outside force? He couldn't tell, but whatever it was, it caused her to hold the grub to her chest and turn around.

"I have to get you out of here," she said quietly, and she began to slink throughout the caverns.

Again, the scenery began to shift before his eyes, and Karkat thought to himself that if it did this one more goddamn time, he would punch Echidna in the goddamn _nook_ when he got out of this. Did she even have one? He didn't fucking care, he just knew that the mass of color and shape and light was about to make him fucking _hurl._

Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind knock him on his ass, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in the cave, watching Kanaya's ancestor wrap little Newfaith in the cloth. "You are a very special little grub, Newfaith," she was telling him. "I can tell. You're destined for great things, little one."

Karkat blinked, and decided to stay seated for a few moments so that his stomach could calm the fuck down. What had he learned?

For one thing, Kanaya's ancestor's full name was Jadeheart Fadeveil. She gave Newfaith her last name for whatever reason – perhaps to link them in a way? That seemed to make sense. For another, she seemed determined to be a very good caretaker for a grub, because she either had been raised by the mother grub as a wriggler and was not cared for, or was supposed to be raised by the mother grub but was instead given to the Matron. Either way, it seemed that her upbringing shaped her for the role that she took upon herself – the mother of his ancestor.

Once all of the information sank in, Karkat could only say one thing.

"I have to tell Terezi this, she'll freak!"


	3. Book of Ancients: Chapter Two

**Book of Ancients  
>Chapter Two<strong>

Karkat got off of his feet and bolted out of the cave, running as fast as he could to Terezi. "Terezi!" he kept calling over and over. "Terezi, Terezi, guess what I found out!"

It took Karkat about ten minutes to get to her, and when he did, he saw that she was curled up in a tiny ball on the ground, fast asleep. "Terez- Oh…"

Her glasses were askew, and he could see the dried remains of teal tears on her cheeks. She hugged her knees to herself, and her pretty black lips were pursed in a frown. Karkat's mouth turned downwards, and he knelt down in front of her. Gingerly, the male troll reached out with a hand, guiding one of his yellow claws down her soft features. If he hadn't felt like a complete asshat before, he certainly did now.

"Hey…Terezi?" he whispered, moving his hand to her shoulder and shaking her a bit. "Terezi… Alternia to Terezi…?" She didn't budge, and Karkat sighed. "Tez. _Wake the fuck up_." He smacked her on the forearm lightly.

The female troll growled disdainfully and opened her blind eyes. "Fuck, what time is it?" she mumbled.

"Time for you to get off your lazy ass." He chuckled at Terezi's insulted expression. "Oh, I'm _kidding_, Terezi. I have something really cool to tell you!"

Terezi quirked an eyebrow, still refusing to get off of the ground. "Who are you and what have you done with Karkat? Karkat's never happy. Ever."

"Haha, very funny. In fact, I almost forgot to laugh. In fact, the humor of that was so overwhelming, I've been deprived of all emotion. The sheer hilarity of your comment was just so powerful, I-"

Terezi sat up quickly and slapped her hand over his mouth. "You _really_ need to stop doing that."

"Foin fwat?" Karkat mumbled behind the sleek material.

"Ranting. It's annoying." She removed her hand and placed it in her lap. "Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, oh yeah! So, listen. I just found Kanaya's ancestor in a cave with the grub," Karkat said excitedly. "And she was wrapping him up in some cloth and stuff, and I got closer to get a better look at her, and-"

"What does she look like?"

"Oh! Well, she looks a lot like Kanaya, except older. Like, a lot older than I thought our ancestors would be."

"How old?"

"I'm not sure… I'm guessing twelve sweeps, maybe older? She had lines around her eyes, so she was pretty old compared to us."

"Wow…" breathed Terezi. "I wonder how I'll look when I'm old… Ick, I'll probably look all gross and wrinkly." She stuck out her teal tongue in disdain at the mental image.

Karkat rolled his eyes. He thought something, but he couldn't man up enough to say it, so instead, he just snickered. "Anyway, so, guess what happened next!"

"What, you discovered that you can get it up for old lady trolls?"

"What? Ew! Fuck no, Terezi, that's nasty!" He cringed and Terezi cackled loudly. _At least she's not crying anymore._ "No, hell no, not in a million sweeps, no. No, okay, just, shoosh your mouth and listen." When she brought her laughter down to a manageable giggle, he continued. "Okay, so, I got close enough to her face, and I guess I was kind of curious, and, well, I reached out to touch it-"

"Because _that's_ totally normal."

"Shoosh your _face_, Terezi."

She laughed and put her hands in front of herself, waving them dismissively. "All right, all right, fine, keep talking."

"_Thank_ you. Anyway, like I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted by a certain someone, I reached out to touch her face, but this weird light shit started forming beneath my fingers, and I got sucked into it, kind of like how we got into this place. You follow me?"

"Yep. You tried to creep on an old lady troll and instead opened a portal to another dimension. Got it."

"… Fuck you, Terezi."

"But the Drones haven't come for us yet!"

"… _Moving on._ I got sucked into the portal, and suddenly all the colors and stuff started to blur together – you would have either puked or gotten off on it. I almost vomited. But yeah, anyway, when it all calmed its proverbial tits down, I could see Kanaya's ancestor, but she was younger –younger than us, even!"

Terezi snickered. "'Calmed its proverbial tits…'"

"Yes, I know, I'm a comic genius, worship me. Anyway, suddenly this big, fat, bitch lady troll comes out of fucking _nowhere_ and says, 'Jadeheart Fadeveil, you get your fucking ass over here this instant, you fucking wench!'" He imitated the Matron in a very strange, pitiful attempt at sounding like a large woman, but it didn't work very well and overall sounded completely ridiculous. His hand gestures didn't help much either.

Terezi cackled, finding the whole thing simply hilarious. "I'm assuming that's improvised?"

"Just a tad. Anyway, I think you missed the point that we now know Kanayacestor's name."

"Jadeheart, huh? Pretty. I like it. But wait… Fadeveil…?"

"Yeah, I thought it was weird too. I figure she gave her last name to my ancestor, but I don't really know why…"

"I know that Dave and his Bro did that too, share the same last name. Maybe it's something all lusii are supposed to do?"

"Don't know," said Karkat with a puzzled expression. "But yeah. Basically, what happened was, the Matron – that's apparently who this bitch was, and Jegus Christ, she was _ugly_ – wanted to get Jadeheart to help take care of the mother grub or whatever, but young Jadeheart basically said, 'Fuck no, that bitch was never around for me.'"

"You are such a pro at quoting trolls, Karkles. I think you should make that your career."

"I really should, I really fucking _should._"

Terezi folded her hands in her lap. "So, you think the reason Jadeheart took your ancestor in is because her lusus was never around for her?"

"That might have something to do with it," said Karkat. "I'm still kind of unsure though. I only got bits and pieces."

At that moment, the two trolls felt the ground beneath them begin to quiver and shake. "Is that an earthquake?" asked Terezi nervously.

"I'm not-I'm not sure." Karkat instinctively moved closer to his matesprit and put his arms around her, shielding her with his body in case of any danger. "Wait, no, it's not – the time's changing again, I think. The colors and everything are moving. God, I think Echidna just wants me to fucking puke really badly."

As the grass under their feet faded away and gave way to white, blinding light, Terezi clutched onto Karkat's chest and tried not to scream. She had to be brave. She had to show that she wasn't a frightened wriggler that needed protecting all of the time. She wasn't blind or handicapped, she simply couldn't see. That was what she kept telling herself.

"Hey, at least we're not pseudo-drowning, right?" Karkat said to her, sounding like he was starting to get used to the whole 'holy-shit-where-did-the-third-dimension-go' thing.

Terezi managed a laugh. "I guess so."

At last, the ground became firm, grassy earth again, and Terezi's whole body relaxed. "Phew," she sighed. "Glad that's over." She pulled away from Karkat and sniffed. A frown fell across her face. "But I still can't smell that much…"

"What can you smell?" asked Karkat. "I'll tell you what you can't see."

Terezi scrunched up her nose and furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to piece all of the smells together. "Well, green grass… And there's some…chocolaty brown smell, but I can't figure out what it is… And rocks. Gray rocks."

Karkat looked around, letting the soft breeze ruffle his messy black mane. "We're in a pretty thick forest," he said. "It's kind of like the first one, but with more trees, and they're taller. It's daylight out. And… Shit, those aren't rocks you're smelling, Terezi."

"What are they, then?"

"Trolls. Right in front of us. We should move so we don't touch them." He grabbed Terezi by the wrist and gently pulled her behind a bush. They crouched down, Karkat peeping above the top just a bit.

Three strong, powerful-looking, highblood male trolls stood in a triangle just a few feet away from their hiding spot. One of them, a purpleblood, was muscular, but not especially tall. He looked like he was a seadweller, and had twin scars running all along his long, pointed face. The other, a blueblood, was taller, but slouched over a bit in a slightly submissive gesture despite the fact that he was significantly more muscular than the first. Dark glasses covered his eyes, and his mouth was turned in what appeared to be a permanent nervous frown.

The last was the most intimidating. He somehow managed to look bigger and stronger than the other two trolls combined. He had a very long, wild mane of black hair, and his horns were long and pointed, like needles jutting out of his skull. His face was not yet visible to Karkat, but he imagined that it wasn't pretty. His shoulders were donned with thick, purple fur, suggesting that he was a very high-ranking purpleblood, only outranked by the first of the trolls because he was a seadweller.

"No sight of her, Grand Highblood," said the seadweller, crossing his arms over his wide chest. "Not even Darkleer could find her in her hiding places."

"Hmm," the Grand Highblood growled, tilting his head towards the blueblood, his face still hidden from Karkat's eyes. A shiver went down the boy troll's spine as he momentarily entertained the thought that this enormous troll was aware of his and Terezi's presence.

"I-I looked everywhere I could, highblood," said Darkleer, bowing slightly and speaking in an odd way that accentuated his double-O sounds. "I-I am sorry, please forgive me."

The Grand Highblood scoffed. "You're not forgiven until you've paid back your debt to me, blueblood, do you understand that?" When Darkleer nodded furiously, he turned his attention back to the seadweller. "And you. Did you not try looking anywhere yourself? Did you really get the blueblood to do all of your dirty work, Dualscar, and make no effort of your own?"

Dualscar's nervous expression was all the answer the Grand Highblood needed. He turned his back on the other two trolls and showed his face to Karkat. His face was painted with white, with purple around the eyes and mouth. He had a wicked, yellow smile, and Terezi made an odd noise in her throat from his rank breath. "The Empress will not be pleased with you, Dualscar," he said, shaking his head theatrically and clasping his gigantic hands – they looked as though they could crush Karkat's ribcage with little effort – behind his back. "Whatever shall I do when I am forced to report that Dualscar, Most Faithful Servant to the Empire, made no effort to act on an official order of the court?"

Dualscar looked horrified for a moment but then scowled. "I didn't realize that being the Grand Highblood meant that you could give orders to find little greenblood girls for you," he snapped. He quickly wished he hadn't.

The Grand Highblood instantly switched around and went nose to nose with the seadweller. "_Don't_ push your _luck_, _boy_." Indeed, Dualscar looked several sweeps younger than the Grand Highblood, and Darkleer seemed to be some uncomfortable age in the middle – older than Dualscar, but younger than the Highblood. "You will find the greenblood and bring her to me, alive. Is that understood?" He spoke with a growl, slowly and carefully. Karkat felt shivers run down his spine.

Dualscar nodded, trying to pull away from the Highblood's ugly face. "Y-yes, sir."

A malicious grin crept across the Highblood's painted face. "Good. Then get to work." He looked back at Darkleer for a moment, as if he had just remembered that he was there. "Darkleer, go home, you're done here."

Darkleer bowed deeply, appearing to be perspiring a bit. "Yes, sir, right away." He turned and fled in the opposite direction, crushing branches beneath his feet and making quite a bit of noise.

The Grand Highblood nodded and grunted, pleased. He glanced quickly at Dualscar, who also bowed and left, less noisily than Darkleer had. The huge troll laughed to himself, once again turning towards Karkat and Terezi. His yellow eyes seemed to burn into Karkat's skull, and a knot grew in the boy troll's throat.

"She'll be mine," the Highblood said to himself. "I'll find her, and she'll be mine. That, I will make sure of." Terezi coughed and, from the surprise, Karkat jumped, causing the bush to move. It rustled loudly, and the Highblood's eyes widened for a second. He clambered over to the bush and reached out with a huge, gloved hand towards Karkat's face. Karkat gripped the branches and leaned back, just enough so that the tip of the Highblood's finger wavered just in front of his nose. The moments felt like hours as he tried not to even _breathe_ the wrong way and make his presence known. There was no doubt in the boy's mind that he would be killed if he was seen.

Then, much to Karkat's relief, the Highblood pulled his hand back and snarled. "Damn birds." He stomped off in a stiff, awkward gait in the opposite direction of the way Dualscar and Darkleer had gone, and it was not until he was a mere dot in the forest's view that Karkat let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"What the fuck," asked Terezi, looking just as uncomfortable as Karkat, "was _that?_"


	4. Book of Ancients: Chapter Three

_Hey, everyone! I'm so sorry about the really slow update. I've been in a pretty bad emotional rut lately, and it's made it really hard to work on doing things I would otherwise. :C I'm going to see if I can get to the counseling center or something, because I've been trying to fight things like this all my life, and I really just can't do it on my own anymore._

_Also, I'd like to mention that soon I'll be getting a beta reader to help me out with this story. I'm actually very worried about screwing something up that effs with canon (especially regarding Mindfang's journal, because it confuses the hell out of me). If there's already been anything that fucks with canon a little in the story, please let me know. I'll definitely revise the first couple of chapters once I get into the groove of this fic._

_Now, without further ado (about nothing, hehe), enjoy the story! :)_

* * *

><p><strong>Book of Ancients<br>Chapter Three**

Karkat let go of the small branches in the bush and breathed deeply, feeling his heart racing beneath his gray skin. "I…I'm not sure what just happened," he finally said. "But whatever it was, it wasn't good."

"That… that big troll. The Grand Highblood. Was…was he…?" Neither of them wanted to say it. They didn't want to believe it. But they had to.

"Yeah… I think that was Gamzee's ancestor." Karkat bit his lip. Terrible images of all the things Gamzee had done from his spoor withdrawal flooded through his mind. The fighting, the killing, the _fucking honks…_ Did all of that… Did all of it come from his blood, and not just the drugs? No, no, it couldn't be… His moirail wasn't anything like that. He was a clumsy, loopy, well-meaning lump. Not…not _that._

One glance at Terezi told him that she was thinking the same thing, and he decided to change the subject. "Hey, Terezi?"

"Yeah?"

"I forgot to tell you that I'm sorry about being a total dickhead earlier."

Terezi's eyes widened and a huge grin came across her face. "Well, well, look at that! You had the sorry scared out of you!"

"I am not _scared_," replied Karkat with a slight scowl, but they both knew that he was lying.

She rolled her eyes (or, at least, he assumed she did from the way she angled her face – it was hard to tell with her eyes) and swatted his shoulder playfully. "Apology accepted, stupid wriggler. Now, back to business. What the fuck did we just hear?"

Karkat grinned but then quickly regained his seriousness. "Well… Gamzee's ancestor said something about a greenblood. Could it be Jadeheart?"

Terezi pursed her lips together. "Maybe, but I don't think so. Greenbloods are common, but she's a very rare kind of greenblood. They would have probably said 'jadeblood' if they were looking for her."

"So, what, he's just looking for a random greenblood? I don't buy that. What use would he have for a regular greenblood?" When Terezi shrugged, he said, "Exactly. Let's try to find Jadeheart and my ancestor."

"You really hate his name, don't you?"

"I was wondering when you'd catch on to that."

Terezi sniffed the air loudly, trying to take in her surroundings. "God, this is near impossible," she hissed.

Karkat's tiny pointed ears twitched and he placed his hand on top of hers. "Hey, don't worry about it. We'll get you a cane." He began to scan his surroundings and saw a long, white branch that looked like it came from a birch tree. "Look, there's one!" When Terezi gave him a withering glance, he added, "Or, uh, pretend to."

Karkat rose from his place and pulled his female companion up with him. They walked over to the branch, and Karkat took Terezi by the wrist and held her hand out to it. "Go on, it's right there," he said.

Terezi clutched at the open air for a bit before finally taking the wood between her fingers. "Karkat," she said carefully. "This isn't a branch."

As a circle of white light began to form beneath her slim fingers, Karkat sighed. "Yeah, I kinda figured that when the weird portal thing opened."

With little emotion, as they were beginning to become accustomed to travelling through these vortexes of light, they were pulled within it and spun slowly for a few moments. Then, their feet hit solid ground again and the light vanished. But, to Karkat's surprise, he was unable to see anything. Their entire world was blackness.

"What do you see?" asked Terezi.

Karkat gulped. "Nothing," he said shakily. "I can't see anything. It's just black." His heart began to pound in his chest as a hopelessly helpless feeling began to take over.

Suddenly their world exploded with sound, and it was all they could do to keep from covering their madly-twitching ears with their hands. Loud trumpets and what sounded like thousands of jubilant, screaming trolls filled the emptiness. Then a loud, steady drumbeat, following a _one, two, three, four_ pattern began and went right through their chests.

"What the hell is going on?" hissed Karkat, crudely shoving one finger in his ear to try and block out some noise, his other hand protectively gripping Terezi's wrist.

Then, to Terezi's left, they heard the soft _click-clack_ of a troll walking in heels on hard ground. Their stride was slow and confident, and seemed overall unaffected by the noise.

Suddenly the noises came to a halt, and they heard the feet shuffle again before stopping. "His Honorable Tyranny," said a very prim and proper-sounding voice, accompanied by the sound of a scroll unrolling, "wishes to welcome the troll Allexian Redglare, of the tealblood caste, into the ranks of the legislacerators."

Karkat heard Terezi gasp excitedly, and she actually hopped in place a bit. "It's her! It's really her! My ancestor!" she whispered excitedly, sounding as though she had trouble containing herself.

"Allexian Redglare," continued the proper-sounding troll, "is it your wish to be enlisted in our service?"

Her reply was swift, loud, and confident. "I spent three sweeps training and preparing myself for this moment. Of course it's my wish. It's everything that I've ever wanted, Your Honor."

"And you say this, knowing that you will not be given special treatment for your…" His voice trailed off, as though he was trying to find the right word for what he was trying to say.

"My blindness, you mean?" She scoffed openly. "I think you'll find that I can do just as much, if not more, than any troll with sight, Your Honor. No, I do not expect special treatment. I know what I'm getting myself into."

Terezi gasped, and Karkat actually heard her slap a hand over her mouth in shock. "She… she was…"

"Yeah," replied Karkat. "That must be why I can't see anything; her memories are made up of sounds, not pictures."

The other troll, who Karkat presumed was simply the voice for His Honorable Tyranny, cleared his throat and fumbled with his scroll a bit before continuing. "And for what reason do you wish to join the legislacerators, Allexian Redglare?"

"For the pursuit of noble and swift justice."

The voice for His Honorable Tyranny rolled up his scroll. A low but loud, guttural noise echoed throughout the blackness. "Let it be known," shakily said the Voice, "that His Honorable Tyranny welcomes and accepts the tealblood Allexian Redglare, who shall, from this moment on, be given the title of Neophyte. Neophyte Redglare, rise!"

The newly named neophyte's heels clacked a bit as she rose, and again the two young trolls heard loud trumpets and cheers. "I can't believe it," whispered Terezi. "I had no idea she was blind, too…"

Karkat said nothing, but he gave her wrist an affirmative squeeze.

At that moment, the sounds of the trumpets and the cheers began to warp and twist in their ears, and white light shone in their eyes from the darkness. "Looks like we've got a new memory to find ourselves in," commented Karkat.

The transition was quicker and smoother without the need to create pictures, and they found themselves in blackness again. "We're still in Redglare's memories," he told her before she could ask if he saw anything.

_Click-clack, click-clack_ went Redglare's heels. "You wanted to see me, Your Honor?" She had a much stronger voice now, and slightly deeper. Karkat presumed that she had grown older by two or three sweeps.

"Yes," a voice answered, but Karkat was surprised to hear that it was not the nasally-sounding one from before. Rather, this voice was much deeper, with a bit of a raspy growl to it. "His Honorable Tyranny has a very important mission for you, Neophyte Redglare."

Terezi caught it first. "Karkat," she hissed. "That's the Grand Highblood."

"The hell is _he_ doing here?"

They heard the Grand Highblood walk forward, his heavy boots making loud, almost thunderous noises in the chamber. "I assume that you know of the one that they call the Signless, Neophyte?"

"Only rumors, highblood," she answered. "But I have taken nothing as fact."

"And what have you heard, exactly?"

"Many things. Some say that he is merely a strange preacher with ludicrous ideas. Others say that he is trying to overthrow Her Imperial Condescension's reign. Still others insist that he can work miracles."

This seemed to get the Highblood's attention. "Miracles, you say?" A pause. Karkat assumed that Redglare had nodded. "What kinds of miracles?"

"He can heal the sick and cure the insane, they say. I have even heard a story that he can raise the dead."

The Grand Highblood's steps resumed, and from the patterned sound they made, Karkat imagined him stalking around the neophyte like a great tiger circling its prey. "Miracles… Ha! Don't make me laugh…" He didn't appear to be talking to her, so she did not respond. "Well, allow me to inform you of a few things, Neophyte. Firstly, the Signless is real. And he talks too much about dangerous things. Talk is a deadly weapon, you know."

"Yes, highblood, the deadliest."

He chuckled. "You've learned well, tealblood. Remarkable for one of your caste. Very close to the greenbloods, but I suppose you've got enough blue in you to keep your head above water." A light _pap_ was heard, followed by a grunt from Redglare. The young trolls assumed that he had patted her on either the head or the shoulder. "Your job, Neophyte, is to find, capture, interrogate, and bring the Signless back to us, dead or alive. Do you understand?"

"Yes, highblood." The young trolls heard her kneel, and as they heard her clothes rustle a bit as she said, "In my mind, in my words, in my heart. Let all that I do be for the glory of the Empire."

"Very good. Rise."

_Click-clack_. "Yes, highblood."

"Also," growled the highblood quietly. "I personally have a mission for you."

She paused for a bit, cautious. "I'm listening, highblood."

"There is a greenblood in the Signless's company," he said. "Capture her and bring her to me and to me _alone_. Alive."

"Yes, highblood," she replied, though the young trolls could hear the tiniest hint of distaste in her voice.

"Good, good. You may go now. Godspeed, tealblood."

With that, the young trolls heard the neophyte turn around and leave. The scene filled up with white again, and they were quickly sent back to the moment that they had found the branch. Terezi dropped it and clutched at the tree instead, while Karkat gripped his knees trying to keep himself from falling over from dizziness.

"T-travelling through these memory portals is going to kill me, I swear," he said in between gasps.

"S-so, my ancestor was apparently not on your ancestor's side?" asked Terezi.

Karkat gulped as he regained his composure. "Doesn't seem like it. And Gamzee's ancestor is pretty obsessed with that Kanaya's ancestor."

"What makes you so sure it's Kanaya's ancestor? I told you, if he was talking about her, he would say jadeblood, not greenblood."

"Well, it's not like we've seen him with any other greenblood so far."

"It's not like we've seen him on two legs so far, either."

"… I really hate it when you're right." He sat down on the ground and finally looked at what had triggered their going into Redglare's memories. "So, that's Redglare's cane, I guess?" he said, admiring the pure, smooth white finish.

"Probably," the Seer answered. "It feels like it's made out of wood, but covered in something hard and smooth."

"It's got a dragon's head at the top," he continued, "with little red eyes on it. Can you smell that?"

"A little. It's like a vanilla candle smell with some strawberry flavor in it."

"… You have the absolute weirdest similes for this stuff." He huffed. "So, have we learned anything else?"

Terezi bit her lip. "I'm not sure… I mean, yeah, we're learning stuff about our ancestors. But I'm not seeing how it applies to us just yet."

"You've got a point there." He sighed and leaned back into the tree. Terezi did the same, blinking her sightless red eyes slowly.

"Hey, Karkat?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think… No, never mind."

"No, tell me, what is it?"

She sighed and pulled her knees close to her chest. "Do you think that I'll be as good a legislacerator as Redglare was one day?"

Karkat tried to choose his words carefully. "Well… Terezi… Our planet was destroyed. I don't think…"

"What? You don't think what?"

"I don't think there _are_ any more legislacerators."

"Oh," said Terezi after a few moments, sounding very sullen. Well, of course she did, Karkat told himself, all of her dreams just fell apart right in front of her.

"But, you know what?"

"What?" She tried to hide the fact that she was crying (_again, good job, you stupid fuckass_, he scolded himself), but it didn't work that well.

"I think you would have been pretty awesome."

She chuckled a bit. "Thanks." The red-eyed troll wiped her runny, wet nose with her hand. "You know, you probably would have made a terrible threshecutioner though."

"Hey, I just complimented you, don't insult me!"

"No, no, I mean… You're too good to be one of those."

Karkat blushed and was thankful that Terezi couldn't see him. "Well… thanks, I guess." He scratched his suddenly itchy neck nervously.

Terezi made a tiny noise as she felt something just brush past her. Karkat looked and instantly jumped to his feet. Walking right towards them was none other than Neophyte Redglare, reaching for her cane.

"There you are," she said to it, and Terezi had an expression on her face like she had just been told by God that they should do lunch sometime. Redglare picked up the staff and slapped it against her palm affirmatively. She tapped the end of it against the ground and whispered, "Come, Pyralsprite" just loud enough for them to hear.

A few moments passed, and then Karkat and Terezi heard a loud _whoosh_ above the trees. Karkat cast his gaze skyward and squinted at the sun's light. Two great white wings burst through the clouds and a huge head broke through the treetops. A great, scaly body followed, and it unceremoniously crashed all four feet into the ground at once, flapping its wings twice before bringing them in close to its sides. Karkat found himself staring into a pair of huge red eyes, and took a step back out of pure instinct.

"That was faster than usual, Pyralsprite," said Redglare with a laugh, resting her hand on the beast's snout, to which it growled lightly. "Have you got anything for me?" The white dragon grunted and opened its mouth slightly, letting a tiny black piece of fabric fall out of his mouth. Redglare caught it in her outstretched hand and brought it to her face. She sniffed at it curiously and, disgustingly, licked it once.

"This is Signless's. Good work, Pyralsprite." Redglare pet the dragon on the snout again, and Pyralsprite breathed out loudly in what seemed to be pleasure. "No troll could ask for a more dutiful lusus than you."

"_That's_ her _lusus?_" Karkat couldn't help but comment.

"Oh wow… Oh, _wow!_" said Terezi with a huge smile on her face.

"Now, let's go find Signless, shall we?" Pyralsprite grunted and lowered his head. Redglare felt around his head until she found the point where the skull connected to the neck. Then, she hopped up and mounted the dragon, gripping its long horns in her black-gloved hands. "Pyralsprite, to the sky!"

The dragon roared and flapped his wings, rendering him airborne in no less than a minute. The troll and lusus both ascended heavenward, and Karkat watched them until they were out of sight. He was thankful that he did, because otherwise, he might not have noticed the piece of the Signless's cloth floating downward.

Karkat let it fall to the ground while Terezi got herself to her feet. "Did you see that?" squealed Terezi, bouncing up and down like a little fangirl. "Oh, she was so cool! And how she summoned Pyralsprite with her cane? Totally _awesome!_"

"Woah, woah, take your tits and calm them, 'Rez." Karkat placed his hands on her shoulders for her to stop bouncing.

"What'd she look like?" Terezi pestered him, obviously ignoring both his words and his touch. "Was she pretty? Does she look like me? What about Pyralsprite? Is he big and white like regular lusii?"

"Oh for _fuck's_ sake, Terezi. Your tits. _Calm them the fuck down._"

"No! My tits will _not_ be calmed! They will remain boisterous and rebellious until my questions are answered! Answer them, Karkat! Answer them for the sake of my rambunctious tits!"

"Okay, okay, fuck it, _fine,_ if it'll make you stop yammering about your boobs." Karkat sighed. "Yes, she looks very much like you. Yes, Pyralsprite is gigantic and white. And, yes, it was sort of cool how she summoned him with her cane. Not the point!"

"Then what is the point?"

"She's tracking the Signless. Pyralsprite had a bit of his cloak. Actually, it fell, and now it's right by your foot."

Terezi pouted as she stopped bouncing. "What does that mean?"

"It means," said Karkat, "that we need to figure out if she's his friend or foe."

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

Karkat gestured toward the bit of fallen cloth. "Grab onto this and hope we get sent to the right time and place."


End file.
